


The Past Will Always Catch Up with Us

by Salmaka



Category: The Technomancer (Video Game)
Genre: Academy Era, Canon Compliant, Feels, Gen, Memory Loss, Mention of Character(s) Death, Or I tried, Salmaka's Expanded Universe, Sean is the best Master ever, Sean's POV, Usage of Head Canon(s), and a bit from the game, pre-game
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-23
Updated: 2018-04-23
Packaged: 2019-04-26 18:37:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,400
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14408106
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Salmaka/pseuds/Salmaka
Summary: We all know the story about a young Technomancer Zachariah Mancer, who helped change destiny of so many people. But what changed his own?





	The Past Will Always Catch Up with Us

**Author's Note:**

> This what's happen when my Muse visits me and sits me on 'Sean Feelings Train'. Enjoy the FEELS!

It's been a week since that fateful day. A week since the day when a massive explosion shook the whole school as well as whole Source. But this time it wasn’t a bomb set by another corporation or a group of resistance - this time it was a young mancer. A young and too powerful student with whom none of the older masters knew what to do. Until the problem had blown up in their faces.

But Sean was too young to know more about it, and in truth, he didn’t even care. The only thing he truly cared about was another young and very talented student. Student, who was less than a meter away from the source of the explosion, was now lying on a bed in the infirmary. But he was a fortunate one, he could also end as one of the children who didn’t survive it.

Zachariah Mancer. A young man for whom Sean has just become his Master. _This will tame you and calm down your rebellious mind_ , Great Master Ian said. Ian himself has only recently joined the Technomaners of the city of Ophir. Until last week, however, he was a much better Great Master than Brandon ever was.

But now it was not time to think about the structure of the order and the mistakes the masters made with their decisions. The life of his very first pupil under his wings was still in danger. Zach gained an unpleasant set of scars on his right side of the body and suffered serious head injuries. It was that head injury that both Sean and doctors worried about. None of them knew how big it was till the boy wakes up.

Sean used this week to figure out what he should say to Zachariah when he asked him where his best friend is. He knew his heart will break. But that's the life of the Mancers, be ready to lose the one you care most about. Sean knew, that by age this fact won’t get easier, it will become a burden.

He himself, despite all the warnings, was very fond of Zach. He reminded him in a special way of himself when he was at this age. Still full of life and dreams, surrounded by a small group of good friends. The boy hesitated a little at the beginning, afraid to cross the invisible and for Sean no-existed line. His behavior was almost unnatural, it was _sir_ here and _sir_ there. By the Shadow, he's not that old! But after Zach and Andrew set up an ink bomb for one of the unbearable and unstoppably annoying students, everything changed.

When he had learned about this "accident," as Connor had tactfully called it, he had almost lost his serious face in front of the other masters. The image of Alan's face all blue from ink and red from rage was simply amazing. Immediately he went to find Zachariah to congratulated him on a good job. The boy just blushed, looked down and smiled. Sean spent the rest of the day at the gate, where Zach was serving his punishment and made him a company. The conversation between them then became more natural every day.

Zach's respect for his master began to change into a fragile form of friendship. And Sean was on the same path. Unfortunately, Connor noticed their changing relationship between them and Sean got a very long and boring lecture on how the Master should behave.

' _He, of all the people, lecturing me about this. He himself treats all the students as a damn mother-hen..._ '

His thoughts were interrupted when he heard as the blanket moved on the bed next to which he sat. The beds in which Zachariah lay.

"Where ...? What's ...?" A weak and slightly hoarse voice spoke to Sean's left.

Sean grabbed a glass of tea from a table next to the bed and handed it to Zach, saying: "Here, drink. There is no need to hurry. Wait, I'll help you. How do you feel, Zachariah?"

The boy tried to sit, but the pain forced him to lie down again. "My head, it hurts as if someone had broken it with a hammer and then glued it together in hurry." Sean sighed with relief, the pain had to be very unpleasant, but Zach was able to talk and even joke. Even though it was black humor. "What happened? How long have I been out?"

"Nearly a week. Do you remember what happened?" Sean asked. It will be easier to know on what to start building the story. The Grandmaster told them exactly what to tell students. A story about a gas explosion. Sean was just hoping that everyone outside of order will believe that. They don’t need the army and the ASC to know how strong technomancer they had among their ranks.

"Sorry, master, but not much ... Just some bright light and then as I fly over the room. I think I hit the wall on the other side of the room. What happened?"

"It was ..." Sean thought about his next words. It was obvious Zach didn’t remember much. "It was an accident. The explosion destroyed half of the room. You were lucky, as you remembered well, you were thrown into a safe place, only a few moments before the ceiling collapsed. Many students didn’t have such a luck. Andrew was one of them. I'm sorry, Zach."

Zachariah looked at him in confusion. "Who is Andrew?"

Sean was shocked. How can one forget their best friend? Should he be relieved that Zachariah will not mourn over the loss of a friend? Or should he be sad, because he will not remember anything they did together? To say this next sentence was very difficult for him: "Just one of the students who didn’t survive."

Before he could continue, one of the doctors appeared behind him and sent him away. As it turned out, Zach suffered a memory loss. Some people he completely forgot. With some people, he just couldn’t connect the name with their faces. Gradually, after the interaction with other people, his memory was slowly returning, but Andrew was forgotten. No one spoke of him.

All the students who knew him well died under the rubble with him and the masters didn’t talk about him. And so, there was no one who would remind Andrew to Zach.

After a few months, Zach and other injured students returned fully to the school life. But Sean saw how the boy's mood changed sometimes. As if his brain wanted to tell him that something was wrong, something was missing in his life, but it couldn’t tell him what.

However, the young master was always there for the boy and helped him to lift his mood. What irony - after Zach lost a friend, he found a new one in his master. That's a circle of Mancer's life.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Sean was leaning against the ancient and beautiful altar in Mances' Chapel in the heart of Ophir. His days have become monotonous since Zach's initiation. Young Mancer stopped here occasionally and talked with him, but after years spent as master and student, it was ... lacking.

But he was proud of his Zachariah. He grew up to become a good and strong young man, who had Sean taught more than just a technomancy. Zach caught some of his attitudes as well. Ready to face the whole world waiting for him behind the walls of the order. And, according to his stories, he did well. As soon as he arrived at the barracks, he was assigned with his own unit and was given several tasks he had to complete. Despite their difficulty and moral dilemma, Zach was more than excellent. Yes, he really was proud of Zachariah.

The door to the chapel opened and three men came in. Two of the men stayed by the entrance and as far as possible from one another, but the third man continued.

"Zachariah, Good to see you. What brought you here today?"

"I'm also glad to see the mast ... Sean," the young man corrected himself, still accustomed to a new addressing. "Cannot I just see you?" Sean raised one eyebrow. "Okay, okay ..." Zach smiled, "Does name Andrew mean anything to you? It seems so familiar to me, but I just can’t place it."

'This is it, ' Sean thought, 'the past will always catch up with us.'

**Author's Note:**

> The "ink accident" is from my previous fic [Chance](https://archiveofourown.org/works/13887729). If you want, you can call it a prequel for this piece.
> 
> As always - many thanks to all the wonderful sunshines from our Discord! Their endless support and ideas is what's keeping me alive and kicking.
> 
> Please don’t be afraid to tell me if you find any mistake I made. English is not my first language and I'm my own beta.


End file.
